Yes, I did all of this!

"Lend me the power of lightning."

The creature that just died under the Blade of Radiant Wing was a monster capable of absorbing and reflecting power. What Duanmu Mo needs to do now is to use its power to absorb some electricity and take it away—and then deal with the remaining monsters, leaving the lightning on the battlefield as a disguise.

If Poison Vine were to investigate, it would likely believe that it was done by Huang Yi or Cang Yi, who possesses similar powers.

With Duanmu Mo's swordsmanship, he could imitate it very well.

And even if some Duanmu Mo were found at the scene.

—Holding the Embrace Blade card, he took out daggers one by one and stuck them into the corpse of a combatant, "embracing" him into a clone. Then he stuffed in the energy card and the monster card, and a bulky, huge, angular yet rounded armor appeared on the clone's body.

Although it has been beautified to the point that it is still pleasing to the eye, its appearance is still a level below other forms, which makes Duanmu Mo feel that his actions are absolutely correct.

"Alright, it's time to move out." With his clone disappearing into his shadow, Duanmu Mo vanished from the spot.

...A fainter rumble of thunder began to echo through Kamishiro City.

Chapter 74: Fury

. . . . . .

The next day, Duanmu Mo, who was leisurely resting in bed, felt the card vibrate. He opened his eyes in annoyance and tapped the card to stop it from moving.

Without even looking, Duanmu Mo could guess which card was the problem.

After getting up and leisurely brushing his teeth and washing his face, Duanmu Mo even cooked himself a bowl of pork noodles for breakfast, something he hadn't done in a long time.

Dressed neatly, he walked out of the office, turned the sign on the door so that it read "Temporarily Closed, Please Wait for Your Clients" to be visible, and then rode away on his motorcycle.

—Inside a nightclub, Poison Vine wreaked havoc, destroying everything around her. Several combatants lay dead beside her, their bodies shattered into pieces, blood staining the floor. The once vibrant stage had become Poison Vine's battleground.

"Damn it! Why did this happen!"

Duanmu Mo, in his monstrous form, pushed open the door and immediately heard Du Man's furious roar.

"Good morning, employer! Shouting in the morning is good for your health, helps improve cardiovascular function, and relieves stress. You seem to know a lot about health!"

"Enough! I'll kill you!"

Driven almost to madness by rage, Poison Vine lashed out with its whip, but Duanmu Mo merely took a step back, his body disappearing into the shadows. Even as the vines destroyed the wall, there was no trace of him.

Rustling...

At the counter, Duanmu Mo picked up a few bottles of liquor that hadn't been destroyed by the poisonous vines and started mixing drinks on the spot.

Pour ice and several different liquors into the cocktail shaker, and while shaking it, Duanmu Mo asked, "If you want to vent, go find somewhere else to vent. I'm here to earn energy cards, not to be your punching bag."

Duanmu Mo poured two glasses of wine, placed one on the counter, and slowly drank the other: "Who messed up your plans this time? Let me guess, it was Cangyi, right?"

He unceremoniously treated this person, who was neither friend nor foe, as his stand-in.

"do not know!"

Poison Vine managed to calm down a bit, grabbed the cup with its vines, drank the wine in one gulp, and exhaled.

Then, she stared intently at Duanmu Mo: "Half of the weirdos in Kamishiro City are dead."

"Oh? Cangyi did it?"

Duanmu Mo also looked surprised and stunned, and then asked.

He thought he had killed only a third of the monsters, but who knew there were still so many left. It seems that monsters are really hard to kill.

"I've confirmed it. It was Huangyi who did it first, but she left afterwards. As for the rest of the place... I don't know. I only know that there are some traces of slashing and lightning left there."

She wasn't sure who the other half was either, but Du Mumo mentioned the mysterious Cang Yi twice, and Du Man unconsciously leaned towards Cang Yi as the culprit.

Duanmu Mo pondered for a moment, then nodded firmly: "If it's not Huangyi, then it's Cangyi."

“I also suspect it was her,” Poison Vine said in a deep voice.

"That's right, who else but her could take down a whole bunch of weirdos in one night?" Duanmu Mo continued to fan the flames.

Based on his words, Poison Vine seemed to have already envisioned Cang Yi slaughtering a group of strange people all night.

"Damn Cangyi..." Poison Vine roared through gritted teeth, clenching her fists tightly.

"They actually dared to kill those weirdos. If only I had gotten a few more energy cards beforehand," Duanmu Mo sighed, his tone turning unfriendly.

He made no attempt to hide his intentions, and Du Man understood his greed. Du Man also felt Du Mu Mo's regret more clearly when he brought it up again.

"Neville, we must deal with Cangyi as soon as possible, otherwise her existence will seriously affect our plans!"

"The question is, how do you plan to deal with her? This Cangyi is no pushover."

Poison Vine fell silent and didn't speak for a long time.

She raised her hand and, to Duanmu Mo's astonishment, transformed it into a vine that pierced her own neck.

As the venom was injected, blood vessels bulged in her temples, and her gaze gradually calmed down, though her eyes were now bloodshot.

It seems she's injecting herself with some kind of toxin to stimulate her brain... and it's having side effects.

Finally, she slowly spoke: "...I'm trying to find a way to improve the strength of the demon puppets, but since we can't deal with Cangyi, let's set our sights on Huangyi."

—If you can't beat them, switch opponents. It's much easier that way...

Silently cursing the shamelessness of the poisonous vine in his heart, Duanmu Mo finished his drink and asked again while mixing drinks:

"I have no objection, but there's one more problem..."

"—You mean the energy card, right? I'll give it to you." Poison Vine stared at Duanmu Mo, her gaze calm, cold, and cruel.

Half of the monsters in Kamishiro City have died, and the rest will probably hide out of fear, unwilling to show their faces and no longer obeying the orders of the Poison Vine.

But in the world of weirdos, the strong are respected. As long as they submit with power, that's enough. Even if they rebel, you can just plant a parasitic seed in their bodies.

The remaining oddballs were enough to supply Duanmu Mo with a large number of cards.

Duanmu Mo poured out the wine and handed it to Du Man: "Excellent, as expected of my employer."

—It seems we can be a little harsher.

"It seems that I made the right choice to side with you."

Poison Vine smiled slightly, accepted the wine glass, and the two raised their glasses in celebration before drinking it all in one gulp.

"Then it's decided. We'll kill Huang Yi, this troublemaker, first, and then figure out how to deal with Cang Yi."

Poison Vine raised its hand, took out a monster card, and tossed it to the silent demon puppet beside it.

"call......"

A low growl came from the demonic puppet, and the tattered cloak behind it began to writhe, turning into tentacles that actively grabbed the card and put it into its mouth.

The phantom of the monster in the card merged into its body, and its body began to move, as if stretching its muscles and bones, forming a stark contrast to its previous silent state.

A faint red light peeked through the gaps in the armor, as if its body had transformed into a furnace, digesting the cards.

The demonic puppet's aura became frenzied, and it also let out a satisfied murmur.

Duanmu Mo was also drawn to it, and squinted his eyes to watch it.

"Oh...interesting."

Through his connection with the cards within his body, Duanmu Mo sensed the changes in the demon puppet. Perhaps due to its premature birth, it involuntarily began to seek more powerful forces—namely, these monster cards—and began to actively pursue them until its body could no longer contain any more power.

"...Now that the plan has been decided, you can leave."

After a moment of dazedness, as if the effects of the poison were beginning to wear off, Du Man's tone became impatient again, and he began to drive Duanmu Mo away.

"Prepare your energy cards and remind me before we begin. Goodbye."

Duanmu Mo did not linger any longer and disappeared into the shadows.

Chapter 75: The Attack

. . . . . .

Near the apartment, Yuzhi walked slowly, carrying a paper bag, and looked up at the sky.

—A few days have passed since the monsters in Kamishiro City were wiped out one by one. During this period, the monsters' open activities dropped to zero. Although there were still undercurrents, these were still a few peaceful days for the residents of Kamishiro City.

This action directly propelled Huangyi's online popularity to its peak. In the past few days, almost anyone who opened the internet at any time could see Huangyi's battle clips dominating the headlines, and his fame even surpassed that of Xiri.

Although she understood that all of this was thanks to Duanmu Mo and that her own strength was not as great as Xi Ri's, Yu Zhi couldn't help but feel secretly pleased because many people at school were talking about this topic.

This praise and commendation is undoubtedly the greatest affirmation for Yu Zhi.

Thinking this, Yuzhi suddenly stopped and looked up.

Before she knew it, she had arrived at Duanmu Mo's office.

"...Perfect timing, let's give Duanmu Mo some food."

Yuzhi was holding a paper bag containing groceries she had bought from the supermarket, along with some bread, sandwiches, and other food items.

She knew that Duanmu Mo didn't like cooking and would just buy a pizza to eat, so she bought these foods in the hope that he could have a more balanced diet.

Of course, Yuzhi thought it would be best if she made some bento boxes herself and delivered them over, since the two of them lived close by.

That way, I can see Mr. Duanmu more often...

For some unknown reason, Yuzhi quickly shook her head and walked up the steps.

But when she arrived at the second-floor entrance, she saw a sign that read "Temporarily Closed, Please Wait for Your Orders," which forced her to stop.

"ah......"

Looking at this, Yuzhi sighed, wondering whether she should wait a little longer or go home first.

But as she was pondering, Yuzhi suddenly jolted awake, instinctively straightened up, and turned her head to look in one direction—all she could see was the wall of the office staircase.

But she could sense the strange man's presence.

"It's finally appeared...?"

The aura didn't seem particularly powerful, and Yu Zhi didn't pay much attention to it, assuming it was just an ordinary weirdo who finally couldn't resist coming out to cause trouble.

Yu Zhi placed the paper bag at the door and quickly left.

. . . . . .

When she arrived at the location where the strange man had appeared, she saw him roaring and destroying the surrounding buildings. His swaying figure seemed to have lost his mind.

Something's not right...

Huangyi gripped the blade, staring at the strange man before him, a peculiar feeling rising within him.